Toy helmets



Nov. 8, 1955 1 WQJNAR- TOY HELMETS Filed March 5, 1953 3 a b A .\M o ,/v. 7 c /2 u. 2 L ,n m. j z z 5 l/Q 4 2 IN VEN TOR. Jal/N J. woJA/AR 4 -r-roR NEY.

United States Patent-.O

TOY HELMETS John Wojnar, Detroit, Mich.

Application March 5, 1953, Serial No. 340,636

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-205) The invention pertains to helmets having, what is known as a futuristic appearance. Helmets of this general type although not of the same structure or design, have been displayed on television by actors playing the roles of explorers of the outer spaces beyond the gravitational pull of the earth. As this type' of a helmet, intended purely as a toy, would till a large latent demand among children, I have given it a shape which will appeal to their imagination but which, because of its simplicity, will make it possible to produce these helmets quickly, in large quantities and at a very low cost. It was therefore one of my specific objects to produce a helmet out of one blank of a flexible cardboard or some other suitable material.

Another object of my improvement was to provide a helmet which at its base includes integrally connected members adapted to tit over the shoulders of the person wearing said helmet, both for the stake of stability and for the purpose of assuring free access of air into the helmet from below.

I shall now describe said helmet with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan elevational view of a cardboard blank properly cut and creased to be formed into a complete helmet;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the helmet in its set up condition;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of said helmet;

Fig. 4 is a top elevational View thereof.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The cardboard blank out of which the helmet is made is shown in Fig. l. It includes a central, substantiallyrectangular area which is defined on the sides by lines of creases 14, along the bottom by slits and creases along straight lines 21 and 21', and at the top by lines of creases 1S and 18 extending parallel to said lines 21 and 21' at the bottom.

It will be understood that all creases which will be mentioned in the course of this speciication indicate a weakening of the fabric of the blank along the lines of said creases in order that the blank may be bent, folded, or deected along said lines from the adjoining part or parts of the blank.

It will be also understood that a description of the blank to one side of a Vertical imaginary line bisecting the blank will apply also to the other side thereof.

That portion of the blank which extends on each side of the blank from the respective line of crease 14 to the outer edge of said blank forms a ap 13. Each ap is defined by its lower end by a slit 24 and at the top by a slit 24a, the slits being parallel to each other.

It will be noted that the crease 18 is but an extension of the slit 24a, and the said crease runs from the inner end of said slit to a point 18a, the latter being spaced from said central vertical line. YAt this point the crease 18 runs into an arcuate slit 16 curving upwardly. The

slit defines an arc of approximately degrees, and eX- tends up to the upper edge of the blank. The portion 15 of the blank above the rectangular central area 10 which is anked by two such arcuate slits 16 forms what will be called a peak of the helmet.

The portion of the blank which extends laterally from the arcuate slit 16 and is defined at the bottom by the line of crease 18 and 18 and the slit 24a is marked 17 and is intended to form a part of the top of the helmet. The portion or member 17 is provided with a crease 19 running parallel to its top edge, the part between said crease and the upper edge of the blank forming a tab 19a. A

vertical crease 14a, parallel to the side edge 17a of member 17, demarks a side tab 17b of said member 17.

In addition thereto, the top edge of said tab 19a is provided with a vertical notch 26, the notch being alined with said crease 14a. Located at the corner outwardly of said notch 26 is a corner tab 19b, defined at its lower side by an extension of crease 19.

As a means of ornamentation, said upright peak 15 is provided with a plurality of lateral slots 18a on each side thereof.

Coming down to the lines of demarcation of the central area 10 of the blank on its lower side, it will be noted that the line of crease 21 on each side of the central vertical line bisecting the blank runs from the slit 24 to a point 21a spaced from the central vertical line; that from said point to a point 2lb equally spaced from the central line on the opposite side thereof said area 10 is dened by a horizontal slit 24C which runs into a crease 21 and a slit 24 alined therewith.

Extending vertically from the horizontal slit 241,` to the lower edge of the blank along the imaginary central vertical line is slit 24b. Thus, a slit 24, the crease 21, a part of the slit 24C, and the vertical slit 24b serve, in part, as the lines of demarcation of an oblong rectangular strip which is subdivided by a vertical crease line 14b and a vertical line 27 into three adjoining areas, namely, the midportion or board 20, the inner end portion 22, and the outer end portion 23.

The central area 10 of the blank is provided in its midportion with an oblong horizontally-extending opening 11 which has the form of a trapezoid. A thin sheet of transparent plastic 12, glued to the rear side of the blank along the edges of the opening, converts the opening into a window in the setup helmet. Two horizontal slots 25 disposed right over the upper edge of aperture 11 serve as Ventilating ports for the helmet.

It is the blank thus described that may be formed into a helmet. For this purpose the side portions of the blank are bent rearwardly till the outer edge of one ap 13 will meet the outer edge of the opposite flap 13, the two flaps being placed in the same plane. To retain them in this position, members 17 at the top of the blank are deected therefrom along the creases 18 and 18' to a horizontal position at right angle to the plane of the liaps 13 to form the top of the hat as shown in Fig. 4.

Tabs 19a are turned down from their horizontal positions of the respective members 17, and, being in a longitudinal abutment with each other, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, are glued or otherwise secured to each other.

The side tab 17b of each member 17 is bent downwardly to be glued to the top portion to the back surface of the top portion of the respective liap 13, while the corner tab 19h is tucked inside for abutment with tab 19a, as shown in the drawings, in which position it may be glued or otherwise secured thereto.

When the blank is so formed into a helmet, the two oblong horizontally-disposed strips at the lower part of the blank are bent outwardly from the central area 10 thereof, each being bent along the crease line 21 till each of them is disposed horizontally at right angle to the body of the helmet. Thereupon, the two end portions, 22 and 23, of the strip are deflected downwardly, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position the mid-portion 20 of the strip is designed to t over the top of the shoulder of the wearer of the helmet.

The straps will keep the helmet upright, permitting air to enter the helmet from below as shown by an arrow, while the Ventilating slots 25 will permit the air to escape from the helmet outwardly. This is an important feature as otherwise the moisture contained in the exhaled air would cloud the transparent plastic pane 12.

It will be understood that some minor changes may be made in the structure of the helmet described by me, Without departing from the inventive idea inclosed herein. What I, therefore, wish to claim, is as follows:

A substantially rectangular blank of cardboard adapted to be bent upon itself into a substantially tubular shape to form a helmet, the blank including a central, substantiallyrectangular area, a peaked portion extending upwardly from said area, a horizontal member on each side of the peak portion, the member being severed therefrom by an arcuate slit and being defined along its lower side by a horizontal crease, each of said horizontal members being adapted to be bent rearwardly to a horizontal position to form a part of the top of the helmet back of said peaked portion, a side ap on each side of the central rectangular area, the outer edges of the flaps being adapted to form the rear portion of the helmet, two strips at the lower portion of the blank, the strips being alined horizontally, each including a mid-portion connected to the central area of the blank and adapted to be creased along the line of connection, an outer end portion severed at the top by a slit from the side flap above, and an inner end portion severed at the top by a slit from said central area and by a vertical slit separating it from the inner end portion of the other strip, each of the strips being adapted to be bent outwardly from the body of the blank when in its tubular form to fit over the top of one shoulder of the wearer of the helmet, the strips serving to hold up the helmet in its vertical position, the central area of the blank having an opening therein to serve as a window.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 766,419 Breck et al Aug. 8, 1904 1,247,415 Lattirnore Nov. 20, 1917 1,856,879 Lufkin May 3, 1932 1,928,238 Willson Sept. 26, 1933 2,000,242 Manning May 7, 1935 2,083,000 Bennard June 8, 1937 

